Priceless
by justanoutlaw
Summary: Emma and Henry try to pay Snow back for the money stolen from her. She refuses both times, though her reasons for doing so each time only slightly differ.


This is just a little thing I thought of when I saw a confession on Tumblr of someone asking if Snow ever got the money back that Henry stole from her to find Emma. Breaking it up into two sections, one in season 1 and the other is meant to be sometime during season 6 or beyond.

* * *

Emma had tried talking to Regina about it, but was getting nowhere. The two didn't get along as it was, but it seemed like the request had pushed the mayor over the line. In her mind, she blamed Mary Margaret for her credit card being so accessible to Henry in the first place. Emma knew better than that. This was her biological kid after all, she had learned to pick pocket when she was a few years older than him. While she wasn't sure how DNA worked in terms of thievery, she knew he probably got it from her…and his father. She quickly shook that thought out of her mind. The $300 total wasn't easy for her to swing between the move from Boston to Storybrooke and all, but she had just gotten her first paycheck as deputy. Mary Margaret insisted she didn't have to pay rent, just take turns buying groceries and what not, so it made things a little easier.

She had the day off, so she waited for her roommate to come home from school. When the door opened, she was already making hot chocolate.

"Hey," Emma called out.

Mary Margaret smiled. Was that woman always smiling? "Hi Emma. How was your day?"

"It was good. And yours?"

"As good as it could be. Is that hot chocolate?"

"Yes." Emma poured out the mugs, adding the whipped cream and carrying them along with the little jar of cinnamon to the table. She watched Mary Margaret sprinkle the spice on top before offering it to her. They chatted about their days for a bit, but the roommate could tell something was up.

"Alright, spill it."

"Spill what?"

"You seem tense. Is there something you need to tell me? Did Regina do something?" Her voice almost sounded protective. Mary Margaret wasn't sure what it was, but she always felt something about Emma. This strong desire to protect her, especially from the mayor.

"No…well, not anything new," Emma laughed a little and reached into her purse, pulling out a white envelope, pushing it forward. "I'm sorry this took so long."

"I told you, Emma, I don't want rent…" Mary Margaret tried to say.

"No, it's not that. Though, I really wish you would," Emma muttered the last part under her breath. She hated feeling indebted to people, but they had argued about that enough. She actually liked living with the schoolteacher and didn't want to screw things up. It seemed to be a pattern of hers, ever since she was a child. Fight until she was asked to leave. Still, Mary Margaret's green eyes stayed kind as she opened the envelope, looking confused at the three crisp hundred dollar bills.

"I don't understand. If this isn't rent, what is it?"

"The money Henry stole from you," Emma explained. "I already knew how much the P.I was and I estimated bus and cab fare, which he admitted he used your card for as well."

"Oh," Mary Margaret was caught off guard. "Emma…"

"Again, I know it took me awhile. In between moving and all, it just hasn't been possible. But I finally got paid. Regina didn't feel we owed you anything, but I really think we do. Henry had no right to steal your credit card."

Mary Margaret was quiet for a minute as she stared at the money and then back up at her friend. She really hadn't been expecting to be paid back for it. She had already paid off her statement. She had assumed Regina's reaction would be that and she didn't expect Emma would be trying to make it right. Yes, she was Henry's biological mother but it wasn't her responsibility. Even if the mayor had offered to pay her back, she wouldn't have accepted it.

"Emma, I can't take this." Mary Margaret pushed the envelope back towards her. Emma's brows furrowed in confusion.

"What?"

"I don't want you to pay me back."

"$300 isn't a small amount, especially for a…" Emma bit her tongue and Mary Margaret just laughed.

"You can say it, for a teacher." She laughed even more when Emma's cheeks tinted pink. "It's alright. Don't worry. I had the money to cover it and still pay my other bills and such. This didn't break me."

"Even so, Henry had no right to steal your property. Especially for something like this. I'm so sorry he even got you involved…"

"Emma, I've known Henry his whole life. He used to be such a happy and bright boy, but for a while there he just seemed so withdrawn. Then he found you and that spark is back." Mary Margaret smiled. "I'm glad he has that, that he has you."

Emma smiled a little, though she was still confused. "Either way, it was wrong and really…"

"I'm not angry with him. He's such a clever boy, so sweet. In a way, I blame myself for all of this. I gave him that storybook. Maybe if I hadn't, he wouldn't have felt the need to steal it in the first place…"

"There's never an excuse for stealing," Emma interrupted. "I need to make sure he understands that."

All her life, she had justified having to take what wasn't hers. As a child, it was if another had a candy that she wanted but couldn't get (foster children often didn't get special treats). Growing older, she would steal food because she felt it was everyone else's fault for failing her and her ending up on the streets. She stole her bug because she felt entitled to a place to sleep. All of that had landed her in jail, she didn't want that for Henry.

"I understand," Mary Margaret replied, putting a hand over Emma's. "And you can still teach him that without paying me back. Really, I can't take this money. Not when I know that part of me is to blame and really, the end result was you." She smiled. "It brought you two together, it brought you here. It brought me…" She trailed off from saying that it brought her a best friend. She didn't want to scare Emma off quite yet. But the blonde knew what she was saying and nodded.

"It won't happen again," she promised. "Between his mother and I, he won't be stealing anything ever again."

Mary Margaret smiled and nodded. "Alright."

Emma placed the envelope back into her bag. "If you won't let me pay you back for all of that, can I at least treat you to Granny's tonight?"

The teacher laughed and nodded. "Sounds like a good deal."

* * *

Henry still had a key to his grandparents' loft, they said no matter what it would always be his and Emma's home. He had to admit, it felt more like home than Emma's new place did. Sure, it was cramped and they were always all over each other but there were memories there, like his other mom's house. He knew it'd take time to build new ones at the Swan-Jones' residence, but in the meantime he spent many an afternoon at his grandparents'. Today though, he had a special mission. After everything had calmed down, he had asked Gold if he could have his old job back, so maybe they could rebuild a relationship. It was what Neal would've wanted after all. His grandfather had agreed and he had been working there for a while, not spending a dime of his small paychecks. Combined with a birthday and the money that came from that, he finally had enough to pay back someone important to him.

Snow was sitting at the kitchen table, grading papers when she heard the door open. She looked up and smiled at her grandson.

"Henry, hi."

"Hey Gram. Are you busy?"

"Nope, just finishing some grading." Snow set her purple pen (she didn't like using red ink, it seemed too harsh and reminded her a bit too much of apples) and gestured to the seat next to her. "What are you up to?"

"Nothing really. I just got done with a shift at Grandpa Gold's and was heading home, but figured I'd stop here first." Henry sat down next to his grandmother. "Where's Gramps and Neal?"

"The park," she noticed he was squirming a bit. "Is something wrong? Are you ill?"

"No, just…I'm sorry this took 4 years to get to you." Henry reached into his pocket and pulled out a check. Regina had insisted he open up his own checking account after he began working for his grandfather. He tried to argue that no one used checks anymore, but it had been a fruitless attempt. This had been the first one he had ever written. He slid it over to his grandmother and she studied it.

"Why are you giving me $325?"

"It's the money I stole from you to track Mom down all those years ago."

Snow smiled. She could still remember Emma attempting to pay her (or well, the cursed version of her) back 4 years ago. She had refused then and there was no way she was going to accept it now.

"Mom told me way back then that you wouldn't take her money and that I had to find a way to make it up to you. I thought helping break the curse would do it but I've learned a lot from working with Grandpa Gold and sometimes, debts can't be paid off in an easy way," Henry rambled on.

Snow shook her head, still smiling. "Henry, I'm not going to accept this check."

"But…"

"It was very sweet of you, but it's not necessary."

"Yes, it is. I shouldn't have stolen from you."

"Henry, no, you shouldn't steal. But in this one case it turned out to be for the better. You brought Emma back here, she broke the curse…you gave me the gift of my daughter, my family…including you…all back together." Snow touched his cheek. "That's priceless to me."

Henry smiled. "Really?"

"Really. 4 years ago, I told Emma no because at the time I thought what you did, while in the wrong way, was doing good. Now, I know that's true more than ever. Just…don't do it again or I'm sure both of your mothers will ground you for life."

A loud laugh escaped Henry's lips. "Alright, deal. Thanks, Grams."

"Your welcome." Snow thought for a minute. "Plus, when you think about it, I owed you 10 years of birthday and Christmas presents at that point." She winked. "Consider that payback."

Another laugh. "Whatever you say. That's a pretty cool gift though."

"The best," Snow replied, sincerely. "What's better than family?"

28 years separated and all it took was $325, a book and a little boy with the heart of the truest believer to make sure the Charming family was forever reunited. All in all, not a bad price to pay after all.

* * *

That ending is so cheesy, y'all can throw tomatoes at me for it haha. Anyway, I hope you liked this, I just couldn't get the idea out of my head. I had always wondered if Emma ever offered to pay MM back or if Henry ever would (I love Regina but I'm sure we can all agree she never would've ). Just some Charming family fluff! Hope you all have a great day. =)


End file.
